Improvement in railroad-rail joints



G. W. MOULTON.

RAILRO-AD- RAIL-JOINT.

Patented. April 4, 1876.

Inventor lftnesses I 3 Q MPETERS, PNOTO-LITHOGRAPHER, WASHINGTON D C.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE W. MOULTON, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO.

IMPROVEMENT IN RAILROAD-RAIL JOINTS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 175,619, dated April 4, 1876; application filed February 21, 1876. I

To all whom it may concern: I Be it known that I, GEORGE W. MOULTON,

of Cleveland, in the county of Ouyahoga and.

State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Railway-Rail Chairs and Splice-Plates; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full and complete description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 is a side view of the splice-plate in its application to the rails. Fig.2 is a plan view; Fig. 3, an end view. Fig. 4 is a detached view of a spliceplate or fish-bar.

Like letters of reference refer to like parts in the different views. The object of this invention is to connect the ends of railway-rails to each other by means of splice-plates without the use of the bolts usually employed for that purpose. To this end I make use of the following-described device:

A in the drawing represents a chair, whereon the two sections of rails, B G, are placed, as shown in Fig. 3, in which it will beseen that the sides a b form a flange along each side of the chair, against which the foot D of the rails abuts. The inner sides of theflanges are formed at an angle, making a dovetailedlike seat, for the foot of the rail, and whereby the two rails are prevented from lateral displacement. E E are the splice-plates, a detached view of which is shown in Fig. 4, wherein it will be seen that the lower edge of the plate is beveled, so that it may conform to the upper surface of the foot D of the rail whereon it stands, as shown in Fig. 3. The upper edge of the plate is made rounding, or so as to fit under the head of the rail close to the web.

The application of the plates to the rails and to the chair will be readily understood on examination of the drawings, and which is as follows: The chair is slipped. on the end of one rail, which is then spiked down to the tie. The splice-plates are then pushed in position, as shown in Fig. 3, from the end of the rail. On this being done, the end of the contiguous rail is slipped into the chair. The plates are then forced back, so that they may lap over on the rail, as shown in Fig.1, in which it will be seen that both rails are embraced by the plate, one on each side, as will be seen in Fig. 3.

The application of the plates tothe rails in the manner as above shown and described avoids the use of bolts. Hence the rails are not weakened by having holes bored in the neck G for their admission.

The inclined bracing position of the plates not only firmly holds the ends of the rails in line with each other, but also supports the head of the rails, so that they are less liable to crush down by the weight of the train, the bracing position of the plates preventing them 'from slipping from under the head of the rails. They cannot be removed laterally, for on forcing them outward they bind all the more firn1 ly in their position.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

The combination of the rails B 0, splicepieces E E, and solid double dovetailed chair A, all constructed substantially as and for the purpose described.

' GEORGE W. MOULTON.

Witnesses:

J. H. BURRIDGE, E. W. Onoss. 

